Title: By the Grace of GodAuthor: CandylandFandom:Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne: The reincarnation of Jeanne d'Arc battles against demons that hide in paintings. She also encounters a fellow kaitou named Sinbad. And there is angst. And romance. And more angst. And prettily-drawn hair. I don't own it!Wordcount: 643Taunt: My fandom can checkmate like nobody's business.

When Natsuki was born with that little black earring clutched possessively in her tiny hand, her parents knew it could only mean one thing. After all, it had been given to her as a loan—something that needed to be returned when next she met the one she had borrowed it from.

It seemed that she had finally come to do so.

Any further doubts were quelled when Shinji came into her presence. The tiny eyes lit up in a way that should not have been possible in a newborn. And he had recognized her, calling her by the name that had once been hers.

Fin…

From that moment onwards, the two were inseparable. Shinji hovered sometimes to the point of being an annoyance, and on more than one occasion, Chiaki had to step in and remind his former partner that while the baby girl was, indeed, Fin's reincarnation, she was still just that: a baby. And babies needed a great deal of care.

Be patient, he told him, already well aware that patience had never been a virtue Access possessed.

To his credit, Shinji tried to be patient…and it showed in the way the boy reigned in some of his more impetuous mannerisms when he entered the Nagoya home. He could often be heard asking Maron-san if there was anything he could help her with. Miyako found it all both amusing and sweet, and gave her permission and blessing.

There wasn't much else to be done for it. And none of their parents would have tried to keep them apart, knowing full well how much those two had sacrificed and gone through to ultimately find each other again. Let them be.

But it was wondrous to see the two together. When Natsuki was a few days old, Maron set her in her cradle on the floor and asked Shinji to watch her. The boy immediately sat down on the floor next to the baby and took up his vigil. Smiling, Maron went about her business, knowing that things were under control and thinking she would check back soon.

After a while, she did peek back in. Shinji was still sitting there, but with one hand reached into the cradle. And from her vantage point, Maron could see a set of very tiny fingers resting on Shinji's larger ones. She ducked back out of the room, hearing him talking to her softly, but not daring to try to actually overhear the words.

It was probably a private conversation.

Some time later, she looked in again…and found both of them asleep. Shinji was curled up on the floor beside the baby's cradle, and Natsuki was sound asleep.

Maron stood over them both for a moment, letting herself drift back to an earlier time. Access wasn't the only one who had lost something dear in that final, fateful struggle, when Fin had betrayed them.

Access had lost his love. Maron had lost the closest thing to a family she had.

…maybe that was why she and Shinji had gotten along so quickly. There was a certain degree of kinship she felt to the former angel. They had held the same being in such high esteem, albeit in different ways, and had been hurt desperately as a result.

But it had all worked out in the end, hadn't it? All of them were together again, by the grace of God.

She had Fin back as Natsuki, her daughter. Her family.

And Access…Shinji…that all remained to be seen, but she was certain she knew where things would go.

But how strange, she noticed as she wiped away a tear along with her memories of that tragic time. The baby, sound asleep in the cradle, was smiling. A pretty little smile that reminded her so much of Fin's.

Even though the baby was far too young to smile.

PS.I swear I had a point in here somewhere. I really did. But I think I lost it…oh well. I was sort of surprised at how much I really fell for the Access/Fin pairing, and the reincarnation idea made me smile. So I thought it'd be fun to take a look at it. Thanks for reading, all! Much love!

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